The Eden Project, the Tate St Ives, Rick Stein and Newquay surfers have made Cornwall cool - and turned it into the hottest property market of the past decade, according to a Halifax survey of Britain's counties published today.

Average house prices in Cornwall have almost quadrupled in the past 10 years, from £53,000 to £195,000, outstripping any other county or unitary authority in Britain, said Halifax. Meanwhile Britain's county with the lowest property price growth has been Aberdeenshire, where house prices started 1996 substantially above Cornwall's at £70,000, but are now well below it at £141,000.

The figures reveal how the axis of Britain's property market has tilted firmly west. Cornwall's boom is repeated across the west of the country, with all of the top 10 fastest-growing counties in the south-west and Wales.

The Isle of Anglesey is top of the leaderboard in Wales. Counties in the principality took 13 out of the top 20 spots in the survey.

But the stockbroker belt of home counties surrounding London retain their position as the most expensive location to buy a property in Britain. Surrey is the priciest, with an average of £299,000, despite being just outside the top 20 in terms of house price growth since 1996. Hertfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire follow closely behind.

Halifax chief economist Martin Ellis said: "The last 10 years has clearly been the decade of the west with areas in Wales and the south-west recording the strongest house price gains since 1996. Both parts of the UK are popular areas for people seeking to relocate and for those looking for a holiday home."

But for local workers in Cornwall and the south-west, the house price boom, led by an influx of 80,000 second-home buyers, has left them struggling to find a place to live. Wage growth has fallen far behind surging house prices. Ten years ago, the average wage in the south-west was about £17,000, putting average-priced houses just within the reach of someone taking out a mortgage of three times salary who had a small deposit. Today, wages have edged up to just £21,000 so buying a home now means taking out a mortgage closer to 10 times salary.

In Cornwall's more sought-after addresses, prices have reached astronomical levels. In Mousehole, a picturesque village near Penzance, estate agents are currently advertising a two-bedroom harbourside flat for £450,000 and a two-bedroom cottage at £475,000. Even chalet bungalows on the edge of the village fetch £400,000 or more.

There are few signs of an end to the boom. In May, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is to open his first Fifteen Foundation restaurant outside London at Watergate Bay near Newquay on Cornwall's Atlantic coast. News of the opening promptly sent local house prices to dizzying new highs, with two developments selling out immediately. Local agents say that the Oliver effect has already added £50,000 to local prices, duplicating the impact that chef Rick Stein's seafood restaurant has had on Padstow, otherwise known as "Padstein".

Andrew George, Liberal Democrat MP for West Cornwall, described the house price rises over the past decade as a "disaster" for the local community.

"Every year thousands of constituents come to my office to complain they have no hope of getting on the property ladder. Cornwall always comes bottom of every survey of earnings and has the lowest income per head figures, and yet local people face some of the highest prices in the country. It is nothing short of a disaster for local people."

He said the prices have been driven up by the influx of second-home buyers and those retiring to the area.

"A year ago I did a local survey and found that agents were twice as likely to be selling the homes on their books to buyers who already had a first home. Local people earning local wages have no hope of being able to afford a property - not unless a rich aunt dies or they win the lottery."

He said that the local housing problems are exacerbated by the fact that there is now very little affordable housing for rent in the region.

"Homeowners now prefer to chase high holiday rents rather than going for a long-term let with a local couple," Mr George said. "You can't blame them, but it creates real problems for those looking for basic housing."

Eight out of the 10 least expensive counties are in Scotland, whereas 10 years ago no Scottish counties featured in the list. But the rock-bottom county for house prices is Blaenau Gwent, known for former coal mining villages such as Ebbw Vale. It has the distinction of being the only place in the country where average prices are still below £100,000.

Its market, however, has still performed better than well-heeled counties such as Berkshire and Oxfordshire.

In 1996 Blaenau Gwent prices were just £31,000 but since then have tripled to an average of £93,000, putting it in the top-third of the Halifax table of fast-growing counties.